Expectations as a Choir Director

The Buck Stops Here

Seriously,
when it comes to decisions about choir
and music ministry,
The Buck Stops Here.
Remember me?
I am The Choir Director.

Now,
I dabbled a bit in previous blog posts
about differing leadership styles.
More specifically,
about leadership styles
a choir director might have.

I tend to be a bit democratic in style.
I welcome suggestions from vocalists and musicians.
I welcome suggestions from the congregation
and most certainly from the pastor.
But in the end,
I make the decisions.
That’s just how it is.
It’s that way it is in the secular world
It’s that way it is in ecclesial life.
There’s always someone
who makes the decisions.

Again,
I’m a bit democratic.
If you don’t like a decision I’ve made,
do feel free to challenge me on it.
Ask me about my why I made it.
If you feel it infringes upon you as choir member,
do let me know.
I’m human, after all.
I may have overlooked a detail
about something.
Seriously,
I am approachable.

However,
I expect certain things from you as choir member
or as a musician accompanying the choir.

I expect you to attend rehearsals.
And if you cannot attend
I expect a phone call or email or facebook message
letting me know about your absence.
If you continue to be absent
you can expect
that I may just ask you to leave the group
until such time that you are able
to attend rehearsals.

I expect you to be prepared for mass.
I pass out any new music at rehearsal.
If you didn’t attend rehearsal
and didn’t call to let me know,
don’t expect me to have all your music
ready in order and waiting for you
for mass on Sunday.
As a choir member or musician,
I expect you to keep your music in order.

And I expect you to arrive early enough
so that you aren’t tuning your guitar
when the greeter is making the formal words of welcome
to the assembly gathered just before mass starts.
I expect you to sing/play the music as rehearsed.
(I expect no musical surprises at mass).

I expect respect for the other members of the group.
The person who plays maracas
is not more important than the person who plays tambourine.
The bass player is not more important
that the person who sings the psalm.
Remember 1 Corinthians 12???
This applies to music ministry as well.
Respect each other
because we need and complete each other.

If you would like to help out with the Children’s Choir
I most certainly would welcome that.
I do so need help with that ever changing group.
However,
I expect you to participate in the archdiocese’s
Protecting God’s Children Program.
Please don’t show up for children’s rehearsal or mass
and want to help if you haven’t completed this course,
or don’t at least have plans of taking this course
in the very near future.
I will be forced to ask you to leave.
I’m sorry if you feel this infringes upon you as a volunteer.
Decision makers, remember them?
Leaders in the Church have decided
that this course is necessary for maximum safety of our children.
And in all honesty,
I can’t say I disagree.
Yes, do come help with the children.
But be aware that as a choir director
I expect you take the Protecting God’s Children class.
That’s what I expect.

Sometimes the sound system works really great.
Other times, not so well.
I expect you to keep your eyes,
one on your music
and one on your director,
for cues regarding mics.
I may ask you to get closer to the mic
or to step away from the mic,
depending on how the sound is that day.
Be aware that the sound varies, also,
with the number of people in attendance.
When the church is full,
we need to eat the mic.
When there are less people
(like for daily mass)
we don’t need to be so close.
Sometimes it’s about the sound system.
Other times it’s about a full church.
And still other times,
it’s about appropriate use of the mic.
As a choir member,
I expect you to watch me
and watch for my cues,
regarding mics.

The same applies to musicians for the choir.
I expect you
to respect the fact
that I will decided
who is too loud
or not loud enough.
As musicians,
we accompany the choir.
We aren’t there for an overthrow.
Yes,
there will be times
when the musicians will do instrumental pieces,
or requinto style intros and interludes.
But if you don’t come to rehearsal,
don’t expect for me to ask you
to “requintear.”

If someone is going flat
(why this phenomenon
that singers go flat,
but rarely go sharp???)
I will give you a cue there as well.
Listen to the piano
as I tend to play an octave higher
to try and help get us back on pitch.
If I know who it is,
I will give that person a specific cue
to listen. . .
If you don’t know what I mean
when I say I will play an octave higher,
this means you haven’t been at rehearsal.
If you don’t know what my cue is
for “you’re the one who is flat, listen up,”
you haven’t been to rehearsal.
I expect to see you at rehearsal.
I expect you to follow my cues.

Yes,
watch my cues.
I decide tempo.
Period.
If the song is moving too slow or too fast,
I will decide that.
Again,
there are cues from your director
about tempo.
I expect you to pay attention.

I expect that all materials used
be put back into place when mass or rehearsal is over.
Anything less is showing a lack of respect
for your fellow choir members,
for the materials used for our ministry,
a lack of respect for me,
and a lack of pride and respect for the ministry itself.
I don’t want to be looking for the tambourine
only to find it hidden in a satchel at the far end of the closet.
And if the tambourine is not the instrument you play
I expect for you not to touch it all.
Period.      

And let me go on a bit of tangent here
and say that most of those hand-held percussion instruments
are owned by yours truly.
Some instruments were purchased here
at local music stores.
But many of these instruments I purchased south of the border
(the maracas, the guiro, the teponaztle).
I brought them in
because I thought use of them
could help enhance the music ministry.
As such,
I grow particularly angry
when they are not put in the proper place
or when they go missing entirely.
You can understand that, can’t you?
End of tangent.
          
OK, a quick summary:
-Come to rehearsal
-Inform me of absence
-Be prepared
-Be respectful
-Watch my cues
-Turn the volume down
-Step away from the mic
-And Quit Hiding The Tambourine!!!!!

In the end,
I guess a little friction, a little agitation
is always necessary.
It keeps us on our toes
(even me!!!)

End of Rubi’s Ramblings.

Pastoral Musical Leadership Styles - Part 5 - Other Styles

Someone left a comment
on the first of the blog entries
on Leadership.
I’m not sure I understood the comment.

On the onset,
I read it to mean
that we should be all three leadership styles.
And I said that in the blog entry,
that most of us incorporate all three styles of leadership.
So,
maybe it was the reader of my blog entry
who did not understand me.

I also said
that we tend to lean on one leadership style
more than others,
as least as I far as I can see.

If the comment meant
that we should try to be equally all three
all the time,
well,
I gotta say
that that just won’t fly with me.

Ah, yes, The Holy Trinity.
Perhaps I don’t fully understand that comment,
or perhaps,
that person
just doesn’t understand me.
Either way I can agree that
The Trinity, in all perfection,
is the perfect role model for us.
However,
in our humanity and with our limitations
there are always struggles.

I agree that all of us use these three different models of leadership
at one point or another.
But my point is
that most of us tend to use one model more than another.
That’s neither good nor bad.
It just is.

Now,
I’m not using any scientific method here,
just personal experience.
And the only reason I’m writing out loud
is because I am trying to articulate for myself
my own style.
But I appreciate the comment, nonetheless.
Differing points of view
(which started this blog series to begin with)
force me to think.

Now,
back to the idea
that we, for the most part,
tend to follow one leadership style
over another.

My husband has his leadership style.
My father was one type of leader
and my mother,
who was another style of leader,
complimented him beautifully.

And it just makes life a little easier
if we could name and claim (i.e. “know”)
what our particular brand of leadership is.
It makes us to understand others
and their style of leadership better.
Quite often
the differences of opinions
we find ourselves struggling with
are very simply
caused by coming at the situation
from different leadership perspectives.
Though coming at the situation from different angles,
many times
people with different leadership styles
hope for the same outcome.
They just approach the situation differently.
We need to stop arguing about which path to take
if we both want to reach
the same destination.

And this coming from different angles,
coming from different leadership styles,
is the discussion
that provoked this series of blog entries
in the first place.
But as I so oft do
when I am writing out loud,
I digress. . . . .

. . . .I am no self-help guru
or leadership mogul.
I’m only trying to articulate for myself
some things I see in myself
and what I have learned about others
over the years.

There are definitely
more than three leadership styles.
What I have listed in previous blog entries
are the three
that I have found
to be most productive
in a pastoral music leadership setting,
. . . recall,
this blog is about liturgy
and this series of blog entries
is for a self-definition.
But seriously,
there are other leadership models
that I have come across
over the years.
And,
depending on where you work
or volunteer your time,
a different style of leadership
may be necessary.
But this is a self-descriptive blog series.

I in no way
negate that The Holy Trinity
is the perfect role model.
But I disagree
that our leadership
(as pastoral music directors)
should always be all three perfectly.


Anyhow,
there are many more leadership styles,
not just the three of previous blog entries.
And while I agree the Trinity
is Perfect Unity,
I know that we are imperfect
and need to use what works best for us.
No one can tell me or force me
to be anything I am not.

OK. . .
Rubi’s Rambling again . . .

Back to the thought. ..
There are way more
than three leadership styles.
And some of them
aren’t so pretty.

For example,
there is the Narcissist.
This persons tends to look out only for No. 1.
Decisions made would be primarily
for personal glory
or personal benefit.
This type of leader can be very destructive.
If a leader is forming in the ranks
the Narcissist does all he/she can
to squash that person,
even force that person
to leave the group,
making it look like
the person left of their own free will,
when,
in fact,
the Narcissist made it impossible
for that person to stay in the group.
Rules are made
and then changed
to benefit the Narcissist,
not to benefit the group.

Then there is The “Yes” Person.
This type of leader
does whatever their immediate superior wants,
whether they know it to be right or wrong.
The “Yes” Person
is more concerned about not making conflict
with their boss
but fails to realize
that they are creating conflict
with those they are called to lead.
This constant state of conflict
creates a real dissension in the group.

Then there is the controller.
This person is the micro manager
because they believe they know it all.
The group functions as the controller
wants it to function.
Everything about the group
is under his/her control.
There often is so much structure
that no one can get creative,
there is no freedom
for the Spirit to move.
The structure is put in place
so the controller can control.

There is The “By The Book” leader.
This type of leader
wants everyone to follow the rules
to the letter.
This type of leader
would, perhaps,
be perfect and necessary
in a work place
where danger is involved.
I mention it here in this blog
as I’m just sort of brainstorming
on other types of leadership.
I don’t know that this type of leadership
would fit the pastoral music director. . .

And,
as a tangent,
let me say that there are behaviors in leaders
that can be VERY destructive.

-Criticizing someone in front of others
-Trying to force others
to accept their point of view as right or correct
-Bragging about themselves
-Delegated work that they, themselves,
just did not want to do


And,
as far as leadership styles go,
there are more, I’m sure.
Again,
my purpose for this
blog entry
is a self-evaluation
and self-description.

Yes,
I incorporate
more than one leadership style
But mostly I am only one of them.
And, if indeed,
that were to change,
that change would start with me,
not from someone telling me
I should be this
or I should be that.

Encouraging someone
to try something new,
something different,
is always a good thing.
But there is a BIG difference
in encouraging someone to try something
and telling them
what the should do or be.

Someone telling someone else
what they should be:
that’s where a lot of the “isms” start,
isn’t it???. . . .

OK.
Nuff said on the topic of leadership.
These blog entries
have been cathardic. . . .

Pastoral Musical Leadership Styles - Part 4 - The Democrat

No, not a political party,
but a leadership style
where the whole group has voice.
For the most part,
my leadership style is participative.
That means
that I like to allow the people I lead,
which in this case,
is the members of the music ministry,
via a style that is participative, democratic.
I like them to have a voice,
an opinion in the music we use.
The final decisions always rest with me
as I am the music director.

Using a democratic leadership approach
the choir members truly feel like a part of a team,
like their input matters.
And quite frankly,
it does.

Now,
don’t get me wrong.
A democratic leadership style
doesn’t mean
that if someone says,
“I don’t like that song,”
we don’t do that song.
I’m speaking here
more of a participation
in the creativity.

For example,
I may choose to introduce a new song.
In my mind
I can hear the alto section
or the sopranos
or percussion instruments in a particular fashion.
Maybe it’s my own creative vision
or maybe it’s what’s printed in the music,
but I usually have a clear sound
dancing around in my head.
And then we get to rehearsal
and Ana finds a unique and outstanding descant
in her mind
that I never found in mine.
Nellie finds that alto harmony
that totally meshes with what Ana is doing.
Not only is the finished piece of music
much grander than what I could come up with alone,
these ladies are contributing,
are becoming owners of the ministry.

The danger of this leadership style
is that it can lead to a choir discussion
as opposed to a choir rehearsal.
But a good leader
knows how to pull back into rehearsal mode
and must decide
which of the various musical suggestions,
if any,
to put into play.

I have found this leadership style
truly promotes creativity,
truly motivates people to participation.
In fact,
sometimes it’s almost like we have a psychic connection.
Marcy starts playing her guitar
and I know exactly where she is going.
Sometimes we just laugh out loud
because we realize that something strange,
but creatively beautiful is going on.
That strange and beautiful thing
won’t happen
if the leader only follows a militant leadership style,
always barking out commands
and never giving choir members a voice.


Another good thing
about this leadership style. . .
. . .(reminder:
I’m discussing a pastoral music leader). . .
. . .is that it is a great way
to find those talents
that lay hidden, dormant
in your members.

Dolores,
who played percussion with a group I direct
for many years,
is absolutely The Queen
of hand held percussion instruments.
She’d hear a song
and instantly know
which instrument is best
and quickly find the rhythm. .
. . . she’d know when to enter
to create interesting dynamics,
she’d know when to change it up.
Dolores is clearly a lady
of the rhythm section.
That being the case,
why would I,
a lady of the keyboard world,
ever try to limit her creativity?
Let your people
(those with rhythm)
creatively play with rhythm toys!!!

Heavy sigh. . . .
. . . I so-o-o-o miss Dolores.
She moved to Chicago. . . .

Yes,
the rehearsals can get messy
using this leadership style.
But if you aren’t flexible
you probably shouldn’t be
a music director anyway.
The mess
is a part of the creative process.
Enjoy it!!

Yes,
the group sometimes
ends up spending a great deal of time
on some songs,
but that’s why they call it rehearsal.
And really,
your rehearsal agenda
should always be looking far enough ahead
into the future.
If all you are concerned about in your rehearsal agenda
is what’s coming up this Sunday,
you’ve totally missed the mark
as a director anyway.
If in June
you aren’t already at least thinking
about September’s repertoire of new stuff,
you’re missing the boat.
Plan far enough in advance
so that your Sunday stuff
will take care of itself.
Advance planning
gives your choir time
to get creative.
Let your choir,
encourage your choir,
to participate in the creativity.

In the end,
if only the printed music score
or only the director’s creativity is used
the world will miss out
on some fine music
that could be,
but never was.

And what if the director
isn’t so creative?
And what if the music in question is great,
but the music score is lousy?
Should the choir
and the music ministry
suffer because of these two draw-backs?
I certainly hope not.
Especially
if there is talent in the ranks
just waiting to be developed,
honed,
and used
for the Glory of Our God.

Besides,
one person cannot possibly know everything.
One person cannot possible create everything
when it comes to music.

And,
in the end,
we are doing more than
preparing music for mass.
The choir is a small ecclesial community.
As directors
we must do all we can to build that community,
not just from the neck up
(learning new music)
but from the neck down
(participation from the heart).

And while I may use
the other leadership styles
on an “as needed” basis,
this is the leadership style,
the democratic/participative leadership style,
I have claimed for myself.

It brings forth flexibility and creativity.
It creates commitment and community.
It’s messy and fun!

Pastoral Musical Leadership Styles - Part 3 - The Delegator

The delegator
is the person who lets others make decisions
and really doesn’t interfere much after that.
In a good situation,
the leader would have competent leaders
in various areas
that he/she would trust
to make good decisions
and then carry those decisions out.
This is not about
making other people do your work.
It’s about working together
with others who capable.

The delegator
would need to able to spot
when one of the team leaders
were not doing their job
or were not capable of doing said job.
And, if necessary,
train that person to do it,
or maybe adjust personnel
so that the job gets done,
moving the person who lacks a particular skill
to another area where they perform well.
The point is
that a good delgator
is able to spot the skill/talent
of a particular person
and work with that person
to develop and hone that talent.

The delegator needs to be a person who trusts.
The hard part could be that
sometimes the person who is called to do a particular job
might not do it
the way the delegator would.
But the delegator needs to let that go
and trust that the job is getting done,
even if in a somewhat different manner.
To step in and control
would be to lose respect,
which, in turn,
leads to lack of motivation,
lack of initiative,
and lack of creativity.

Another danger of this leadership style
is that the leader might just turn around
and blame the person delegated
if the job goes wrong.
A true delegator
would be keeping on eye on things,
watching (not controlling)
and help set things in the right directions
if he/she sees things taking a wrong a turn.

This type of leadership
could work very well
if the choir is large
or if there are many instrumentalists.
Rather than schedule sectional rehearsals
the choir director
may choose competent leaders
for each section
and have them rehearse
in a different room,
having all sections return
to main rehearsal room
to rehearse together.

(. . . but even so,
each section leader
would then assume
one of the other leadership types. . )

Quite often,
I have learned,
is that if there is trust in the director
and trust in each other as a choir,
members of the choir
might take initiative
and assume certain tasks
without officially being delegated to do so.

Once one of my choirs
took a trip to Mexico.
During the initial stages of the planning of this trip
I fell ill.
Connie took care of creating and sending demo tape to basilica.
Marcy found the hotel and ground transportation.
Another person took care of
getting us a keyboard and sound, etc., etc.
These people didn’t wait
for the official word from the director
to start organizing
because they knew that these tasks
were going to be handed out anyway.
They took the initiative
and went about the work
of planning a choir trip. . .
. . . wow. . .
No small wonder I love this choir so much!!!!

I suppose a part of the reason
that I, personally,
don’t use this leadership style
is that I usually have directed
small choirs.
But I do see where this style of leadership
can be effective.

Pastoral Musical Leadership Styles - Part 2 - The Autocrat

The first leadership style
I would like to discuss in this blog
is the autocratic leader.

The autocratic leadership style
is authoritarian, militant.
The autocratic leader
tells people what to do.
This leader tells how to do it,
when to do it.

Now,
let me remind blog readers
that I’m writing about church leadership here,
specifically,
the music ministry.
So,
as I describe the pros and cons
of the autocratic leader,
please keep that in mind.

The autocratic leadership style
may be necessary on occasion.
There may be factors involved,
such as time constraints.
A certain task must be accomplished
and the leader tells people what must be done
to meet the deadline.

Last year,
I took the children’s choir to Faithfest,
a festival of church music
in the area where I live.

The sound equipment
was provided for by the sponsoring church.
But it needed to be set up
according to my specifications.
When the children began arriving
I quickly told a few of the parents
to separate the kids
into “choir 1" and “choir 2”
(Soprano and alto).
I told another parent
to make sure that those children
who played percussion instruments
got what they needed.
I went inside to work with sound team.
When mics were in place,
I had guitarists take their place.
Then I sent a parent out to gathering area
to bring Choir 2
and told them specifically to leave Choir 1 outside
until I called for them.
When Choir 2 was in place
I called for Choir 1.

The parents understood well
the time constraints
and the set-up necessary.
They followed my directions.

This is a good example
of how and when
an autocratic leadership style is necessary.
If there is a good relationship
between the leader and the group of folks involved
this style of leadership can prove most effective,
as it did for us for this event.

The danger of this leadership style
is that it could lead to a lack of respect.
The danger of this leadership style
is that the leader could abuse the power,
be more of a controller than a leader.

Another danger
is lack of communication.
While the autocratic leader
may have clearly set goals
and have a vision of things,
they often do not share this
with the group they lead.
This can lead to conflict and friction.
People may resist the leader’s request,
even though what the autocratic leader is requesting
is for the betterment of the group.

If this is the only leadership style that is used
a lack of respect
and a lack of communication
will not be the only problems.
It will be hard to motivate people.
And where there is little motivation
there is even less creativity.
This could be death to a choir,
to a music ministry.

Now,
don't get me wrong.
This style of leadership
is necessary at times.

Personally,
I use this style of leadership sparingly.
To be quite honest,
it just isn’t me.
But I must admit,
this style of leadership
served us well
on the day of the Faithfest event.
But an every day leadership style?
Nope.
Not me.

Pastoral Musical Leadership Styles - Part 1 - Different Styles for Different People

Leadership styles.
There are many.
There are three I would like to discuss
in this blog.

And I would like to do this
because someone recently
challenged me on my leadership style.
While I cannot be certain
on what was going on
in that person’s mind,
I think the discord comes from the fact
that he and I have totally different leadership styles.
And because of this
we sometimes tend to view things
from different angles.

And to be quite honest,
sometimes I like it when there is a bit of friction.
It forces me to think,
forces me to articulate
what I may already know in my heart,
but haven’t yet verbalized.

Now,
this is not going to be a
Dale Carenegie or
Anthony Robbins
spewing of verbage.
These are just Random Rubi Ramblings
of thoughts
that have been dancing around in my head
for the last week and a half.

Anyhow,
near as I can figure,
there are three main styles of leadership:
The Autocrat, The Democrat, and The Delegator.

Leadership,
to me,
is about motivating people.
We have a task about us:
the music ministry.
Our purpose for being
is to provide that musical leadership
for the People of God.
My role is to direct.
“Duh,” you say?
But it’s about more than directing a choir.
It’s about providing direction.
A leader who does not provide direction
cannot possibly hope to motivate.
Without motivation
the music ministry dies.

Now,
all who are leaders
go from one style to another
as the situation and circumstances demand.
But basically,
we tend to follow one style of leadership
more than the others.

First of all,
let me say
that no one call tell you
what sort of leadership style
you should have
as your principal style of leadership.
And this is where
my momentary frustration
with the person was,
they wanted me to be something
I know I am not.
Still,
I had to verbalize for myself
what my style of leadership is.
Many of us
have probably never even given it much thought.
We just do it.

Many things may be involved
in developing your own leadership style.
Your age could be a factor.
Your life/work experience could be another.
Your education could be yet another factor.
Culture has A LOT to do with leadership style.
Men, for the most part,
tend to lead very differently than women.
And quite often,
indeed,
when what we are discussing
is a Pastoral Leadership style,
the leadership style
really depends on the circumstances.
For example,
the way I lead the children’s choir
is different
from the way I lead the women’s choir.

I know well
what my leadership style is.
But until now,
I haven’t verbalized it.
And to say I am something,
also is saying that
I am not something else.
So,
as I describe the various leadership styles
in upcoming blog entries,
please be aware
that I am about a self-description here,
writing stream of consciousness,
as I so oft do,
to release the words from my heart
and on
to this electronic parchment.

Three leadership styles:
The Autocrat, The Democrat, and The Delegator.

Can you guess
which one I claim?
And which one are you???